Judge W. Kent Hamlin, shown in court, said he had no choice after the jury signed a not-guilty form.

Judge W. Kent Hamlin, shown in court, said he had no choice after the jury signed a not-guilty form.

Photo: Craig Kohlruss, Associated Press

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Bobby Lee Pearson was stabbed to death the day he was freed.

Bobby Lee Pearson was stabbed to death the day he was freed.

Photo: Associated Press

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Fresno jury accidentally frees man - who's killed hours later

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Fresno -- A defendant in a Central California burglary case walked out of a courtroom a free man after a jury mistakenly signed a not-guilty verdict form, only to be killed hours later.

The flabbergasted judge said Wednesday that he had no choice but to order defendant Bobby Lee Pearson released from jail because the not-guilty verdict had been put on the record, the Fresno Bee reported.

After it was too late, jurors told the judge they were hung on the charges against Pearson. Prosecutors might have had an opportunity to retry Pearson in the case of a hung jury.

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Hours later, Pearson was stabbed to death, Fresno police Sgt. James Rios said. He apparently got into a fight early Thursday morning with his sister's boyfriend, who Rios says then stabbed him. The two apparently had a long history of problems. The boyfriend's name has not been released.